


infinity times infinity

by yuckbarracuda



Category: Minecraft (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Aliens, Fluff, M/M, alien!dream, farmer boy!sapnap
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-21
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:21:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,061
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28224549
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yuckbarracuda/pseuds/yuckbarracuda
Summary: a spaceship crashes down on nick's farm. he investigates and finds an alien with bright green eyes and a touch that singes.
Relationships: Clay | Dream/Sapnap (Video Blogging RPF)
Comments: 28
Kudos: 104





	1. pluto

**Author's Note:**

> no i do not have three ongoing minecraft fanfics, no i do not <3  
> srry im a sucker these aus no i will not apologize  
> title is from sun by sleeping at last :) check it out, it's the type of vibes i'm going to try to recreate with this fanfic, soft and sweet.

if it weren’t for the fact that nick wasn’t already awake, he would have missed the crash. it was silent, just a glimpse of light in the sky that nick had barely noticed. the crash produced a quick flash of light itself, but it was a millisecond, something that would’ve been missed if he had blinked in the wrong moment. but the stars had seemingly aligned that night, and nick had witnessed the entirety of the fateful crash and burn. 

he was alone on the family farm, his parents having gone to some conference that went on for a week about the greatest quality of farming products and equipment texas had to offer. the night was cold, even for texas, the wind brisk and hurting. nick bundled up in his hand me down wool coat, barely stopping to step into his muddy, old cowboy boots. 

nick pressed the little switch on the flashlight he found in the kitchen, cursing quietly as it blinked twice before turning off. he banged it against his hand, shook it for a moment, and let out of breath of relief when it flickered on for good. the night was completely dark, the street lights too far away to shine any real light on the farm yard. nick shivered in the cold, the sleep pants he had on thin, but the real cause of his reaction was the silent piece of metal that loomed in front of him, smoking quietly. 

nick bit his lip as he reached closer and closer to the strange object in front of him, his mind flashing to comics of small green martians, lizard people, large, almond eyes. he had half the mind to run back and call the police, but he was afraid that if he looked away for a moment, the machine in front of him would disappear entirely. 

he had just reached the perimeter of the object when there was a loud hissing sound. nick jumped, his hand shaking as he pointed his flashlight all around the ship. it was a ship, wasn’t it? a  _ space _ ship. 

the exterior was a solid, milky white color. it was even shaped like the stereotypical disc shape that the crazies on television ranted about on the news. except this time, nick realized, he himself was the crazy one. 

nick tried to find any opening to the ship, hoping to catch a glimpse of the occupant. it was terrifying, and the longer that nick couldn’t find any entrance to the craft, the scarier this whole situation became. his frazzled mind brought up many different scenarios to light, most of them ending in his untimely and possibly painful death. 

nick’s fear culminated when the flashlight in his hands sputtered once again, before dying completely. the complete and utter darkness that resulted was black as pitch; nick blinked and it was so silent he could hear his heartbeat in his ears, feel the pulse in his veins become rapid. he took a step back, the crunch of the grass seeming deafening. 

the sudden realization that he was a gigantic idiot with a death wish bloomed to nick, and he rationalized that seeming like a loon to the police was a much better idea than being mutilated by some otherworldly being. nick took another step back from the spacecraft, and another, before turning and hightailing it out of there. or he would have hightailed it if it wasn’t for the fact that a seemingly solid and warm wall had formed behind him while he had been staring at the crash. nick bounced off the new barrier, feeling sick to his stomach in horror. he was completely blind at the moment, being so dark he couldn’t even see straight in front of him. 

nick tried to think of what to do next, his mind screaming at him to get away but helpfully providing no way how to. nick gulped, and backed away from the stranger in front of him. “ _ fuck _ ,” he muttered near silently. 

nick was just about to bolt around the figure when there was a sudden interference in the air, and a crackling noise like a radio being turned on. nick froze at the noise, feeling as if bones were going to jump out of his skin at any moment. 

“what a vulgar word,” the being suddenly spoke, sounding so strangely human that it spooked nick harder than if the alien in front of suddenly spoke in music notes or something of that nature. “thank you for speaking, anyways. it helped me calibrate my translator,” the voice continued, and nick couldn’t help but relax at the nonchalance in the tone. it was so unbearably human that nick could almost forget that this...thing was not from earth.

“oh, i forget how weak humans’ eyes are. one moment,” it was quiet again for a second, before nick’s hand was enveloped in another hand, warm and soft. nick gasped at the sudden touch, along with the soft electrical beats that warmed his hand and seemed to zip through his veins. the flashlight suddenly blinked in his hands, and the light that shined from the bulb was brighter than nick had believed possible. it was almost a beacon of light in the dark field. 

nick blinked against the sudden onslaught of light, his eyes taking a moment to readjust to the new brightness. nick let out a breath, biting his lip anxiously as he peered up, finally having enough light to see what was in front of him. 

the alien looked completely human, and was dressed in an emerald green tunic and black leggings, both of which were singed and rumpled. he was taller than nick, standing almost a head taller. his face looked fairly human as well. the only startling alien feature were the piercing green eyes of the alien, which seemed much too bright in the night. 

“salutations, human. take me to your leadeer,” the alien spoke, and by the smirk that he gave nick, it was obvious that he knew it was a cliche saying. nick took a step back, the adrenaline still cycling through his body. it didn’t matter that the alien looked human, or that his smile gave nick goosebumps, or that the alien’s touch singed nick to the core with absolute warmth. none of that matters, or at least that’s what nick’s brain was trying to tell him. 

“what the actual fuck,” nick uttered, and he felt as if he was brain was doing a hard reboot; it was, after all a lot to take in. first, the fact that aliens were in fact real, and second, that they were hot. 

the alien suddenly laughed, and maybe that was the last straw for nick. seeing such a human response, laughter ringing out into the silent night, broke nick. he let out a high pitched wheeze before crouching down to the ground, enveloping his head in his hands as he tried to compartmentalize all this new information. he let out another nerve wracking laugh as he hid his face into the palms of his hands. 

“it’s okay. just breath,” the voice of the alien rang through the night air, and nick jumped at the startling nearness of the sound, looking up from his hands. the dropped flashlight provided just enough light to frame the alien’s face. he was also crouching, looking at nick with concern. nick laughed again, looking away. 

“how the hell are you so quiet? stop sneaking up on me, damn,” nick huffed out, trying to ignore how fast his heart was beating. he heard the alien in front of him give another little puff of laughter. 

“well to be fair, i am very light on my feet. comes with the perk of gallivanting around different planets,” the alien explained, and nick looked back at him with narrowed eyes.

“you’re going to brag about your life? you just crash landed onto a planet. brag about that,” nick muttered, before realizing that he was  _ not _ talking to a strange human; he was talking to a strange alien, one that probably had the capabilities to vaporize him where he’s crouching. 

the alien pursed his lips, looking around for a moment before rising to a standing position again. nick watched him walked a couple steps around, unnerved at how his steps created no sound. it was like watching a ghost move. 

“i see this as an opportune moment. i’m marooned on a planet i’ve only visited once before, briefly. maybe i can finally go sightseeing while i fix up my ship.” the alien announced calmly, clapping his hands together before looking back at nick. the alien extended his hand out to nick. “show me your house, human. you must be freezing out here anyways, and it’s only common courtesy to show strangers hospitality.” 

nick stared at him in open mouthed shock. but before he realized what he was doing, he had already grabbed the other’s hand, and the same bout of electricity zipped raced through nick’s body. he tried not to react to the sudden feeling of warmth that passed through him. 

nick looked at the alien, biting his lip. this whole situation was strange beyond belief, but the idea that a braggadocious alien would kill nick at any moment seemed less like a possibility as the seconds ticked by. “fine, but you’re sleeping on the couch...and don’t even think about mutilating any of the farm animals, or i’ll mutilate you,” nick ordered, before leading the way back to his farm house, the beacon of light in his hand lighting the way. 

there was a beat of silence before the alien behind him began to wheeze with laughter. nick was glad that the other was behind him, as he smiled at the sound. “oh, i would like to see you try,” the alien teased, and nick rolled his eyes in response. 

he tried to ignore the smile on his face as he led the alien back to his home. 


	2. neptune

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> merry christmas to everyone who celebrates it <3  
> i hope you all enjoy this chapter it was so much fun to write

the trek back to nick’s family home was quick, with the brunette trying his hardest not to glance to openly at his visitor. it wouldn’t have mattered if he looked or not though, because the alien was staring all around them as they walked, as if he was seeing everything in the daylight. it was concerning how well he could see in the night, especially when he suddenly pulled nick toward him in one instance. nick jumped in surprise at the sudden touch, but the stranger only merely murmured about a stray hole that would have caused nick to trip if he had continued to walk the same path. 

“uhm...thanks i guess,” nick replied, feeling his cheeks flush despite himself. it was just weird to nick, and worrying how much he had to remind his brain that this was definitely an alien and not a really attractive person. 

“anyways-” nick was quick to get out the visitors grasp, the other simply letting his hand fall back to his side. “do you have a name? i don’t think i can keep calling you “the weirdo alien’ in my head,” nick explained, trying to dissolve the awkwardness he felt. 

“my name is dream, which i believe is an uncommon name here?” the alien, dream, said. nick nodded. 

“yeah, i don’t think a lot of people are named dream on earth. that’s more of a concept than a name,” nick replied. he bit his lip before continuing, “-i’m nick by the way, in case you were wondering,” he looked back at the other, and the lights from his now near home lit up dream in a soft amber color, but his green eyes seemed luminescent in the light. nick looked away quickly. 

“nick…” dream said quietly, as if trying to test it on his tongue. the brunette ignored the shiver that came from hearing his name come from dream’s mouth. 

they finally arrived to the back door of the nick’s home. “sorry if it’s a mess. my parents shouldn’t have left a 19 year old in charge,” nick admitted, scratching the back of his head in soft embarrassment. he turned away from his guest for a moment to open the door, ignoring the soft squeak of the hinges. he flicked on the lights and turned off the flashlight. 

“you’re 19?” dream asked as he entered the home. nick tried to disregard the fact that the alien had to swoop his head down to make it through the frame. the brunette lead them deeper into the house and into the kitchen. nick set down the flashlight and made his way to the fridge. he believed he deserved a present for the mental gymnastics his brain has had to go through tonight. 

“yeah. what are you, like 400 or something?” nick replied, cracking open his can of beer before tossing one to the other. dream caught it easily. he looked down at it in curiosity, before looking back up at nick with a quirk of an eyebrow. 

“i’m...actually what is one orbital period for this planet?” the blonde asked. nick took a swig of his beer before answering. he looked away as the alien’s piercing gaze was still on him. 

“365 days. one day is 24 hours, one hour is 60 minutes, and one minute is 60 seconds. does that help any?” 

nick looked back as the noise of a beer can opening filled the room. dream was watching the can in what seemed to be amusement. he looked back up at nick, smiling. 

“actually yes. i remember learning about the different metrics of time in school before. if i convert my age to your system, i am technically…” the alien trailed off, his lips mouthing some calculations. nick glanced at the other’s lips and tried not to flush. he failed spectacularly. he took another swig of his beer, leaning back against the countertop as dream calculated. 

“i am 21 years old,” the alien finished, his eyes shining in triumph. nick let out a soft noise of surprise. 

“really? only two years older than me. that’s kinda crazy,” nick commented. it really was odd, that this alien was only so much older than him yet seemed to have traveled around the galaxy for who knows how long, sight seeing and experiencing so many things while nick was stuck on earth, cursed to probably live in texas, on this farm, for his whole life. he felt a sudden burst of bitterness against the other. nick watched as the other took a sip of the beer, finally, before blanching at the taste. “yeah it’s shit...but it does it’s job,” nick explained, already feeling the effects of the beer as he drank the last bit of it. 

“and what is it’s purpose exactly?” the other asked, now eyeing the drink with distrust. nick giggled at the reaction, grabbing another one from the fridge. 

“my dad says it’s a get of jail free card for all the stupid shit you want to do. it’s alcohol. it lowers your inhibitions i guess, which is something i need right now,” nick said, laughing lightly as he took a sip. “but now that i think about it, it may not work that way for you.” 

the alien laughed and took another sip, this time recoiling less noticeably. “no, no, it should. my kind, we’re shapeshifters. we can mimic our appearance along with our physiology to match with whoever we’re mimicking. it works great when you’re traveling and want to remain unnoticed,” the alien hummed, swirling his beer as he spoke. nick looked at his guest as he explained the reason he did look human. he was standing in the middle of the kitchen, back ramrod straight and looking, for all the world, exactly like a body snatcher. 

“well, you wouldn’t get far in this world,” nick snorted, and the other looked affronted. he looked at nick with narrowed eyes. 

“and what is that supposed to mean?” dream asked, and nick let out another soft giggle before placing his beer on top of the countertop. he made his way to the other, scrutinizing him as he went. 

“well, first of all, no human just miraculously falls out of space in a ship,” nick began, watching as the other huffed, and rolled his eyes; nick grinned, “second of all, you’re too stiff. it’s like you were born with a stick up your butt. relax. nobody would willingly stand in the middle of a room like this,” nick made his way to the other, before pushing him to the breakfast table that was in the kitchen. nick grabbed on the other’s shoulders before pushing him slowly into the seat. dream looked up at him now, and nick could feel his blood boil at the look. 

they stared at each other for a moment, before the alien smirked, “am i doing it right now?” nick bit his lip at the look that the alien gave him, wondering if the other was just as clueless at “being hot” as he was at being a human. 

“no, you’re still so rigid. you’ve got to loosen up,” nick ordered, and the other didn’t move for a moment, until he settled his arm on the table. he propped his head on top of his hand. he looked up at nick again, except this time the combination of the lazy grin and hooded eyes was just about too powerful for nick. he looked away quickly, feeling warmth in his stomach that he didn’t know was from the alcohol or his nerves. 

“that better?” the alien asked from behind him. nick made it back to the countertop before turning back around. his visitor was in the same position, just watching him with those piercing green eyes. their gaze seemed to leave nick feeling more lightheaded than all the alcohol in the world combined could. 

“you need to look away more. staring at a person for so long can make you come off as creepy, which while more human, is not the road you want to go down,” nick offered, clearing his throat as the other continued to stare at him. 

“i like to keep my entire concentration on the object i’m focused on,” dream countered. nick scoffed at the answer.

“well it could make others uncomfortable, which would then make you untrustworthy along with being dubbed an asshole. so if that’s what you want…” nick trailed off, and took another sip of his beer. dream continued to watch him with steady eyes. 

“do i make you feel uncomfortable?” dream asked, his smirk still in place. it was criminal really, nick thought, how attractive the other looked at that moment. 

“a little,” nick replied, laughing awkwardly. 

“and is this because i stare at you or because of the way you feel when i stare at you?” dream asked, and nick almost choked on his spit at the question. 

“what? b-because you stare at me, obviously,” nick stuttered out, feeling suddenly off balance. he decided that was enough for drinking tonight, and poured out the rest of the drink into the sink.   
“obviously,” dream murmured, and he was suddenly next to him. nick turned his head to the side quickly, and watched as dream looked at the beer can in his hand, slowing spilling out the near full can of alcohol. 

“dude, you gotta stop sneaking up on me like that, okay? or i gotta put a bell on you, jeez,” nick said, feeling more off kilter than ever. 

“a bell? an interesting solution, but i think you’d have much too fun with,” dream replied, looking nick’s way as he set the now empty can on the countertop. nick did not know how to respond to that, so he simply did not. 

“do you want some spare clothing? or do you want to sleep in your half burned clothing?” nick asked, walking away from the other. he heard dream follow him this time, his silence no match for the random creakiness of the old home. 

“i could use a change of clothing,” dream murmured behind him. nick glanced back for a moment to see dream enraptured with his surroundings, looking from ceiling to floor at all the mindless decorations and photos his mother had decided were important enough to post on the walls. nick tried not to think of all the baby photos of him strewn around the house. 

nick made his way to the second floor, where his bedroom was. he opened the door to his room and the both of them piled in. 

it was a tiny room, big enough for his bed, a small bookcase and drawers. he opened his drawers and scoured them for something that could fit dream. his friend was entertaining himself with looking at every nook and cranny of the room. 

“here, the pants might be a bit too small. we’d have to go looking for clothing tomorrow for you,” nick explained, turning around to see the alien fiddling with his old violin. nick’s eyes widened, racing to dream’s side to tug it out of his grasp. even if he didn’t really play anymore, the instrument was expensive, and he didn’t feel like explaining to his parents how he let a stranger into their house who then proceeded to break expensive things. 

“what does that do?” dream asked as nick zipped his violin back into the case. 

“it plays music,” nick explained, putting the case back into the corner of his room. nick turned around to see dream staring longingly at the case. 

“here,” nick thrust his arm into the space between them, giving dream a spare sweatshirt and the longest sweatpants he owned. 

dream grabbed the bundle of clothing, looking at them for a moment before dropping them on the floor. nick was just about to shout something about not dropping things when dream hiked his tunic over his head before letting it fall onto the floor. nick’s mouth went dry at the sight before him. his brain took a second to reboot before he turned away from dream. 

“another human rule! we wear clothing for a reason. you can’t just strip randomly with company in the same room,” nick said quickly, and dream laughed. 

“you humans and your rules,” dream exclaimed, laughing more as nick heard the defiant sounds of clothing being removed and replaced. “you can turn around now,” dream said, his tone still light hearted with slight mirth. 

nick turned around and tried not to make a noise at what he saw. dream in his clothing, with the large sweatshirt fitting him perfectly, and the sweatpants still riding up to his ankles, felt...intimate. and dream looked completely adorable. it was just a bit too much for nick to handle tonight. 

“uhm..okay,” nick said slowly. he looked down to see dream’s old clothing on the floor and sighed. it seemed no matter the species, there will always be those who are too messy. nick was also one of those so he couldn’t even complain. 

“now what,” dream asked, looking around nick’s room. nick rolled his eyes and pushed dream out his room, closing it behind him. 

“now it's time to sleep, and like i said, aliens take the couch,” nick answered, and the two of them tumbled back down the stairs before nick guided them to the living room. 

it was a warm room, and nick’s favorite in the house. the giant fireplace kept the entire room warm on days that the heater was on the fritz (which happened more times that nick liked). it was also the only room with a television, a boxy and decrepit thing nick’s father had found at a garage sale once. but it played mtv and cartoon network and that’s all that nick really cared about. 

“you can sleep here,” nick pointed to the sofa, which was overloaded with blankets and pillows to the point that it looked like a real bed. dream stared at it for a moment before looking back at nick. 

“i'm not tired,” dream commented. nick groaned at the response, feeling fried more than ever. the adrenaline had worn off so long ago, leaving him tired and feeling dead on his feet. 

“here, you can watch tv. it's a learning experience,” nick sighed, grabbing the remote and flicking it on. he passed through the channels quickly before settling on the history channel. 

“oh that's just gold,” nick snickered as the logo for ancient aliens popped up on the screen. nick tossed the remote to dream. 

“do what you want. i'm going to go to bed,” nick said, yawning the last bit of the sentence. dream looked away from the show for a moment to pout at nick. 

“you can't just leave me here alone. that's being a bad host,” dream whined, going to sit on the couch. he patted the seat next to him. “just for a bit,” the alien pleaded. 

nick looked away from the, frankly endearing image of dream lit in the soft lights of the room, surrounded by blankets, and wearing nick’s own clothing. it was too domestic for nick’s very tired brain.

“fine, i'll stay for one episode, but then i'm leaving to go to sleep. we have to be up early,” nick broke, going to sit next to dream. he left quite a bit of space between them, feeling that it'd be too awkward to sit right next to him. 

“yay,” dream cheered softly, and nick rolled his eyes. 

the episode was inane, in nick’s opinion. he barely grasped the delicate web of conspiracies the show tried to create in the episode. beside him, dream was quick to grasp the idea of the show before he began to scuff and mouth off complaints about the inaccuracies of the show. 

nick’s eyes were already drooping ten minutes in, the background chatter of dream explaining the real truth of aliens on earth lulling him into sleep. nick looked toward dream right before his eyes shut completely. dream looked positively insulted by what the show was spouting off. 

nick’s last thought for the night, in his sleep addled brain, was that dream looked just a bit beautiful. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lemme know what you think!


	3. uranus

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope you guys like this!  
> also, if you want to, you can follow me on twitter @honkdemi it'll be fun to talk to some of you guys!

the sound of one of the roosters in the barn wake up nick at the crack of dawn, with a small crick in his neck and warm beyond belief. he blinks into consciousness, seeing that he had never made it back to his bedroom. he’s actually laid out on the couch, his head supported by a throw pillow and his body covered by his favorite blanket.

nick sits up, confused as to where his new alien friend had disappeared to. it didn’t take long to find him though. dream was snoozing on the floor, stretched out on his back as if he was a cat. he was sleeping right in front of nick, softly snoring, dead to the world. nick couldn’t help the smile that formed on his face at the sight. he didn’t want to ruin the image, but unfortunately nick wouldn’t be able to get up without stepping on his guest. 

nick shook dream’s shoulder, and dream frowned in his sleep, his eyebrows furrowing for a moment before he woke up with a groan. nick let out a soft laugh at the pained expression that flittered on dream’s face, saying, “comfy down there?” 

dream responded with another groan, rubbing his hands over his face. “why does it feel like i was sucked into a black hole and spit out the other side,” dream complained, sitting up and wincing. his voice was deeper than usual, fresh from waking.

“two things. a: you literally crash landed onto a planet last night. that’s going to bruise some bones. b: you slept on the floor, which is typically something sane people don’t do,” nick explained. dream looked up at him with a pout. he looked...good. his hair was messy, but it framed his face nicely, and nick could just make out faint brown flecks in his green eyes. in that moment, nick’s thoughts spiraled into how he wanted to kiss the frown off dream’s face. nick felt himself freeze at the intrusive thoughts, but the thoughts just kept coming. he could just swoop down and kiss dream, cradle his head in his hand, brush his cheek. his mind vividly painted the picture, and nick knew if he didn’t get out of there fast he might just do it. 

“why are you looking at me like that?” dream suddenly spoke, snapping nick back to the present. nick looked away, getting up and stepping around dream quickly. 

“i just...have to pee. be right back,” nick announced, all but running away from the room. he slammed the bathroom door closed, locking it quickly before turning to face the mirror. he looked alright, his hair a mess from sleeping. his scruffy beard framed his face, and he wondered if he should shave soon or not. he picked at his skin, frowning at the acne that simply would not disappear no matter what he did. 

nick realized then, that even if he did have a little crush on dream (which is a big if! definitely...), dream would never like him back. nick was a disheveled 19 year old whose life has been predetermined from birth. he’ll probably die on this farm, while dream will fix his ship and go back to exploring planets and meeting many more interesting aliens and quickly forget about the texan boy who gave him some clothes and a place to sleep for the night. 

nick ignored the tell tale sign of tears forming, laughing shallowly at the absurdity of it all. crushing on an alien, nick thought, was the definition of pathetic. 

  
  


nick flicked the knob in the shower on, twisting it to the warm side. the water spurted out, and nick ignored the groans coming from the pipes. he looked back to see dream watching with rapt attention. 

“sorry if the water pressure is shit. this house is old. but you can use my shampoo and conditioner. shampoo goes first than conditioner.” nick explained, holding up the two bottles, indicating which was which as he spoke. 

“not too difficult, i suppose. on this one planet, the dominant species had a whole ritual for cleaning themselves. they were obsessed with being clean,” dream comments, and nick smiled half heartedly. he was in a bad mood, but didn’t want to upset dream or make him think anything was wrong. it was tough, especially when dream rambled quite a bit about other planets he visited in the past and how different and unique every single culture was. he talked about the different feeding behavior during breakfast, and nick had tried to be as responsive as he could be. he was sort of glad he’d have some time to himself, to realign himself. 

“i’ll leave you to it, okay? holler if you need anything,” nick said, and he was about to leave when dream suddenly placed a hand on his shoulder, stalling the brunette. nick looked up to see dream looking at him with a concerned look. 

“i don’t...i don’t know if this is my place but, are you okay? you seem sad. did i do something?” dream asked, looking at nick with the most genuinely caring look on his face. 

nick wanted to run, leave the small bathroom that was slowly heating up with steam, leave dream standing here. it was all too much. why did he believe he could hide behind false cheeriness? dream was obviously much more observant than nick would have ever believed previously. and yet, nick knew he would not be able to tell him the truth, to explain to dream that it seemed that every fiber in his being seemed to energize by just a touch, that his mind was stuck on dream’s pink lips. 

“i’m fine, just still a bit tired, i guess. don’t worry about me, dream.” nick replied, this time not trying to reassure dream with a smile that wouldn’t even be able to reach his eyes. nick could tell that dream didn’t fall for it, but dream let his hand drop from where he held it, and nick stepped back, reaching behind him to open the door. 

“just...let me know if you need anything,” nick repeated, before opening the door and tumbling out the small bathroom. he shut it behind him quickly, feeling for all the world as if he had run a marathon. he walked away, trying to calm his shaking nerves. 

nick walked through the house, thinking of maybe cleaning up a little while dream was busy when the shrill sound of the phone ringing sounded through the house. nick sighed, picking up the receiver, seeing that his mother was calling from the little read out. 

“nicky!” his mother’s voice cried out on the other end, and nick felt himself calm down slightly at the sound of her voice. he smiled, suddenly missing his parents deeply. they had been gone a scant three days, and were expected to be back in around five, but the house had been empty with just him there. well...not so empty anymore.

“hello mom,” nick replied. 

“how are you? are you feeding yourself?” his mother asked, and nick could tell in her voice that she was worried. 

“yes mom, i am a-okay. i’ve already eaten and am going to go feed the animals and then go into town,” nick told her, and nick could just see her pursing her lips, eyes narrowed. 

“you don’t sound okay,” his mother replied, and nick would have groaned if he could. was he just shitty at acting normal today? apparently he can’t even get through a phone call without being called out. 

“i just...i miss you guys. and it’s kind of tiring running a farm all on your own.”  _ not to mention a really attractive alien is in our bathroom right now taking a shower, _ nick thought, but believed it was best not to say that part out loud. 

his mother laughed, the sound cracking through the line. “oh please, nicky. you can run that farm blind. you know we taught you well,” his mother boasted, and nick’s smile spread on his face, feeling the beginning embers of pride in his heart. 

“of course, i was taught by the best.” nick replied, feeling more at ease as his mother laughed again through the phone. 

they chatted for a bit more, his mother gushing and gossiping about all the other farmers that they had met at the convention (“ _ oh, if you could only see the horrid state of those tomatoes, nicky-”) _ . nick settled himself against the wall, the chord not letting him move far from the phone, content to listen to his mother’s voice, missing her deeply. 

the sound of the bathroom door opening startled nick out his calmed state. he looked up, wide eyed, as dream entered the living room. his mouth went dry at the sight. dream had a towel wrapped lowly on his hips, and that seemed to be the only article of clothing on his person. 

“fuck-” nick cursed immedietly. dream’s eyes were alight with curiosity, staring at the receiver pressed to nick’s ear. the receiver which had his mother on the other end. who most definitely heard him curse. 

“-nick, what’s wrong?” his mother asked over the phone. nick looked away from dream, his brain only able to handle one trainwreck at a time. 

“i have to go, mom. i- i forgot i left the barn doors open last night. i’ll call you back later,” nick lied, going to hang up the phone quickly, hearing his mother exclamations of surprise and worry cut when he placed the receiver back in it’s place. he bit his lip and looked back to see dream staring at him in amusement. 

“ _ please _ , what did i tell you about humans and their need to wear clothing?” nick sighed, and dream laughed, looking pleased as a peach.

“but i  _ am  _ wearing something. see?” dream exclaimed, pointing down at the haphazardly wrapped towel. nick groaned. 

“this is my fault. i can’t leave aliens to their own devices, ever. come on, i’ll find you more clothing, and then we’re going shopping for you.” nick explained, pushing himself up off the wall and trying to brush past dream to head to his room. 

“what were you doing with that piece of technology?” dream asked behind him. 

“i was talking to my mom. she wanted to know how i was doing,” nick replied. 

“oh,” dream said softly, and the tone of it seemed off, as if dream had suddenly learned of some bad news. nick looked behind him to see dream staring at the floor as he walked. nick frowned at the response. 

“what’s wrong?” nick asked, feeling as if their roles have been reversed. now it seems like dream was the one hiding something.

“nothing, it’s just...i’ve never met my mom,” dream said as they entered nick’s room. nick ruffled through his drawers again, finding some more sweats and a hoodie for dream. he handed it to dream. 

“oh...did something happen to her?” nick asked, looking away as the other dressed. nick had already dressed for the day, went with a soft flannel and a pair of ratty overalls. 

dream laughed softly, and nick looked back to see him putting on the hoodie before shrugging. “i don’t know. because we’re shapeshifters, my kind, we don’t have a world to call our own. we’re all over the universe, finding places to visit and experience. a lot of the time we don’t stay in one place for long. my mother left me on a planet when i was a baby, and i was raised by some friends she met. they didn’t like me much, and apparently only decided to keep me to use my ability in the future. so i ended up leaving them when i was...15 i believe, and i’ve been traveling around the universe ever since,” dream explained. he looked at nick with a sad smile. 

“it’s not like i despise her or anything. it just sucks i guess, not knowing who your real family is,” dream admitted, shrugging again. 

nick’s mind raced for a moment, trying to figure out what to say to dream, but he couldn’t think of anything. he had always been shit at comfort, being better at finding the problem and fixing it if he could. he swallowed, thinking back to how his mother used to console him. 

he took a breath before walking toward dream. dream looked down at him in vague curiosity, before his face disappeared from nick’s view as the brunette leaned forward and wrapped his arms around dream in a hug. dream let out a shuddering breath. “what’s this?” 

nick laughed slightly, “i’m sure the concept of hugging exists in other species, dream,” nick said softly, and the soft “oh” from dream warmed nick’s heart. dream wrapped his arms around nick, and they stayed there for a minute, soaking in the moment. 

“thank you,” dream murmured, and nick felt so much emotion at the gratitude, wondering just how far his feelings for the other can escalate in such a short time. 

“no problem, dream,” nick whispered back, trying to fight the butterflies in his stomach, repeating words he thought to himself earlier today. dream would never see him as anything more than the kid who helped him. 

his thoughts did nothing to quell the newfound fire in his chest. 

  
  


it was just past 12 when nick had finished feeding the animals, dream cooing at the cats that prowled around the house and barn as nick worked quickly and efficiently. 

it was frightening to leave the house to feed them, only to find the spaceship from last night missing. 

“what the hell?” nick had asked, and dream followed his eyesight to where the ship used to be. dream laughed at the sight, or lack thereof. 

“don’t worry, it’s still there. it’s invisible right now. i believe your society has yet to make contact with aliens.” dream explained. nick was relieved at dream’s explanation, because it was better than the idea that this all just might be a figment of nick’s imagination. 

“society, no. government, probably,” was all nick replied with as they headed down the path to the animals. 

now nick lead them to the garage, where his rusty piece of shit of a pick up waited for them. nick had bought it with his own money the day he turned sixteen, having saved up for years. it was rickety, and worked maybe 70% of the time, but nick loved it as if it were his own child. for the first time though, he felt slightly embarrassed. dream rode in sleek and technological advanced machines. nick’s truck was from the 90s and kind of smelled.

“that’s...certainly box shaped,” dream commented as they made it to the overhang. nick rolled his eyes. 

“if you want to walk the five miles to town, be my guest,” nick grumbled, the harsh wind blowing past the both of them cementing his statement. he grinned smugly as dream hurried into the truck. 

it took three tries for the truck to start up, but soon enough they were blazing down the road, kicking up dust and rocks and nick sped to town. 

“so i need to get more groceries, and you need clothing. two or three pieces would do fine, since you’re not staying for long…” nick trailed off, trying to keep the pain he felt to a minimum. 

“yeah, i guess so,” dream agreed, his voice low. nick looked over for a moment, but dream was looking out the window, staring at the rolling hills of farmland all around them. he tried not to overthink on dream’s answer. 

“i can also show you around the town too, if you’d like. you can see how humans interact with each other, and i can show you my favorite spots,” nick offered, and dream looked his way again, visibly more happy. 

“that would be really nice, nick,” dream said, and his name coming out of dream’s mouth was almost too much. nick focused his eyes back on the road, gripping the steering wheel tighter to stop himself from breaking out into a smile. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lemme know what you think!! :)

**Author's Note:**

> hope you all like this :)


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